www.windaction.org | Impact on Landscape

Major wind farm project causes a stir
January 8, 2013 in ABC News

In a statement, Independent Senator Nick Xenophon says the project will become a "white elephant that will be embroiled in litigation." Senator Xenophon currently has a Bill before Parliament to introduce national standards on the level of noise created by wind turbines.

Also filed under [ Impact on People| Australia / New Zealand]

Two billion pound Rampion wind farm plans to go before the government's Planning Inspectorate
December 27, 2012 in Worthing Herald

Set eight miles off the coast of Shoreham, it would form a landmark feature visible between Worthing and Brighton, with plans for between 150-195 turbines at the core of its design. According to the firm, the key to its proposals lie in utilising new technology which would enable turbines to be active more than 90 per cent of the time.

Also filed under [ Impact on Economy| UK]

Court overturns decision on Shropshire farm wind turbine
December 24, 2012 in Shropshire Star

Yesterday the decision was quashed following a High Court challenge by local residents. They claimed the inspector had been wrong in his view that the turbine would not have a ‘significant adverse impact on recognised environmental assets' in the local area.

Also filed under [ UK]

Approval of Ostrander Point is an outrage
December 23, 2012 by Garth Manning in County Coalition for Safe and Appropriate Green Energy

Ostrander Point is Crown Land (owned by the people of Ontario) situated within the globally significant Prince Edward County South Shore Important Bird Area. Ontario allows wind turbines in IBAs; other countries such as Germany do not. The property, on a major bird and bat migration route and home to several endangered species, is arguably the worst location in the province for wind turbines.

Also filed under [ Impact on Wildlife| Canada]

Wind farm developers set sights on Merse valley
December 22, 2012 by Janice Gillie in Berwick Advertiser

With 130 turbines of over 30m either consented or proposed in east Berwickshire, wind farm applications are starting to creep downhill and along a corridor in eastern Berwickshire parallel with the A1, down to Lamberton Moor. The visual, landscape, cumulative and noise impacts are likely to be far greater as the land is flatter and there are more settlements in the Merse valley.

Also filed under [ Impact on People| UK]

NextEra Energy eyes more Ontario wind farms
December 21, 2012 by John Miner in The London Free Press

“The hypocrisy of this provincial government is absolutely stunning. The timing of the approval announcement is another slap in the face for rural Ontario—the government is saying, we don’t care what people want, or what's right, we’re helping big business push this through.”

Also filed under [ Impact on People| Canada]

Nature Canada dismayed by decision to grant green light for Ostrander Point wind power facility
December 20, 2012 in Nature Canada

We strongly believe there are sound, science-based reasons for rejecting a wind power facility inside this Important Bird Area, and we intend to press for a reversal of this unfortunate decision during the current appeal period.

Also filed under [ Impact on Wildlife| Canada]

Wind farms should not be less than 1.4 miles from people's homes, Nick Boles suggests
December 18, 2012 by Christopher Hope in The Telegraph

Nick Boles said in the House of Commons that wind turbines should not have an "unacceptable impact" on local communities ...There is currently no national standard for the distance between turbines and houses. But Mr Boles told MPs that he thought a minimum distance "might be appropriate" in some areas. ...However, if the ban was adopted widely by other councils, wind farms could be effectively banned.

Also filed under [ Impact on People| UK]

Ordinance limits turbine use
December 13, 2012 by Tom Shevlin in Newport Now

Aimed at governing the installation of residential and commercial-scale wind turbines, the proposal comes almost a year after councilors passed a resolution temporarily halting any new applications for home-based wind turbines and directing city staff to develop a workable ordinance to govern the placement and size of turbines in the future.

Also filed under [ Zoning/Planning| Rhode Island]

First Minister Alex Salmond: Stop the reckless siting of wind turbines in Scotland's scenic landscapes
December 12, 2012 in Wind Wise Radio

Please sign our Petition...

Also filed under [ UK]

Argyll grandmother takes UK and EU to the United Nations over plans to turn Scotland into windfarm 'hedgehog'
December 10, 2012 by Margareta Pagano in The Independent

A community councillor from Argyll is mounting a landmark legal challenge against the UK and the EU at the United Nations in Geneva this week over their renewables policies, on the grounds that the public is being denied the truth about the alleged benefits, and the adverse impact, of wind power.

Also filed under [ Impact on People| UK]

Lights, blade shadows disturb residences in Ocotillo after Pattern Energy brings wind project online
December 8, 2012 by Miriam Raftery and videos by Jim Pelley in East County Magazine

I now have bright red lights flashing in my face which I can also see inside my house which are very annoying and totally unacceptable." The shadow flicker has a disquieting impact as well, casting vast moving shadows as three blades on each turbine rotates.

Also filed under [ Impact on People| California]

Controversial Wark Common wind turbine plans withdrawn
December 5, 2012 in Berwick Advertiser

The application for the turbine at Wark Common has been withdrawn after national park planners ruled it was lacking in vital information. In a letter to the county council, Northumberland National Park Authority said it considered the information provided in the re-application to be "deficient" in terms of the level of landscape and visual impact work undertaken.

Also filed under [ UK]

Bridgewater Selectboard opposes Iberdrola wind proposal
November 23, 2012 by Bridgewater Selectboard in Bridgewater Town Website

Also filed under [ Impact on People| Tourism| New Hampshire]

Proposed wind project near Joshua Tree National Park canceled
November 19, 2012 by Chris Clarke in Rewire

A proposed wind turbine installation that would have covered more than 63,000 acres of the California desert on the eastern edge of Joshua Tree National Park has been canceled by the Bureau of Land Management, ReWire has learned.

Also filed under [ Impact on Wildlife| California]

Call for turbine moratorium gets louder
November 15, 2012 by Bob Boughner in Chatham Daily News

A spokesperson for McNaughton said the two elected officials want all turbine construction to halt until results of a federal health study on the impacts of turbines has been tabled. ...The spokesman said there is also growing concern about the devaluation of property as a result of the rapid proliferation of wind turbines in Chatham-Kent and throughout southwestern Ontario.

Also filed under [ Impact on People| Canada]

Scottish Borders 'on course for 1,000 wind turbines'
November 9, 2012 by Simon Johnson in The Telegraph

A thousand wind turbines are on course to be built in the Scottish Borders thanks to the SNP's "backroom bullying" of the local council to ignore public opposition, it has been claimed. Campaigners said official figures showed wind farm developers have already built or have planning permission for 403 turbines in the picturesque tourist area.

Also filed under [ Impact on People| UK]

Ruth Davidson attacks Alex Salmond's 'scorched earth' wind farm policy
November 6, 2012 by Simon Johnson in The Telegraph

She said there was no need for the "march of the turbines" to continue but SNP ministers were unwilling to review the situation or listen to "besieged" communities' concerns. Miss Davidson delivered the attack during a keynote speech marking her first anniversary as leader in which she argued that the state in Scotland has become so bloated it is harming society.

Also filed under [ Energy Policy| UK]

Spread of wind farms threatens historic landscape, says campaigners
November 4, 2012 by Patrick Sawer in The Telegraph

Almost 4,000 turbines are scheduled to be built across Britain over the next few years, to add to the 3,800 already in operation. Mr Hayes said that only a minority of these are likely to be given the go-ahead. "We can no longer have wind turbines imposed on communities. Enough is enough," said Mr Hayes, whose constituency is in Lincolnshire.

Also filed under [ Impact on Views| UK]

Indigenous vs. multinationals in Mexico wind power
November 4, 2012 by Associated Press in The Daily Herald

Saul Celaya, a Huave Indian farmer and San Dionisio resident, said the lagoon project would damage mangrove swamps where fish, shrimp and other sea life breeds, and scare off the fish that locals depend on. "Just when they were doing soil studies, there was a mass die-off of fish," Celaya said, adding that projects opponents "are being intimidated, they're afraid to leave their houses, they're threatened."

Also filed under [ Impact on People| Mexico]